“It’s tough for any competitor,” he said. “You just gotta stay grounded and stay positive.”

Orakpo injured his ankle in the first quarter of Sunday’s 28-14 win over New York. He missed a couple plays, but played the rest of the game.

2.      Returner Brandon Banks said his knee is finally 100 percent and that he’s “good for the rest of the season.” Banks missed most of training camp because of his knee, which required surgery in November. Banks was full participation in practice Wednesday.

And he said he feels he’ll be even more dangerous.

“I’m able to make better moves and get away from defenders easier,” he said.

3.      Can’t imagine Leonard Hankerson will be active any time soon. The third-round pick was inactive for the opener because he’s not a special teams player unlike fellow rookie Niles Paul. And Paul can help from scrimmage on occasion with his blocking. If you don’t play special teams, you must be one of the top four wideouts. Hankerson is not. He’s a talented player, but with the increased depth at receiver the Redskins can bring him along slowly.

4.       Running back Tim Hightower was one of the stories of the day, with his old team coming to town Sunday. But he’s not out to prove anything to the Cardinals; nor is he bitter about having been traded. “I’m glad it happened,” he said.

Why not? He returned home, is the starting running back and he left a team that would have had him as a No. 2 back – at best. And that’s only because the other running back, Ryan Williams, was injured.

5.       Hightower was bemused by any sort of issue over his supposed guarantee of a win. Now, he didn’t say, “I guarantee we will win.” But on Monday he did say, “We’re going to win this game.” One of his former teammates, Darnell Dockett, tweeted, “Yoooo did this MOFO guarantee a victory?” Dockett is one of Hightower’s close friends.

“It’s funny I have to address that,” Hightower said. “There’s nothing in life guaranteed. Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. With that being said, I wouldn’t aim for anything less than the beast. That doesn’t make sense for me not to expect to win. I’m not going to apologize for the way I feel about it. I’m very passionate about what I do. This team is passionate about what we do. I won’t put my team at a disadvantage by speaking that something out there. But we play to win. We’re hungry for a win. I’m sure if you ask one of those guys I would hope they would say they expect to win as well. That’s all it was…. It’s just a matter of confidence. I believe in the guys we have in this locker room and I believe in the coaches we have.”

6.       No need for Hightower to say anything other than, “It’s what I believe.” This notion of people getting worked up because a guy says he expects to win? It’s silly. I’ve never understood what else an athlete should think.

7.       As a side note, it’s hard to think of Hightower as only 25 years old. The guy seems like he’s played in the league for 15 years because of his mature approach. If Clinton Portis had conducted himself the same way at the same age, he’d still be playing – and breaking records. Guys like Hightower follow a line I remember Brian Mitchell using long ago. When he was drafted, Mitchell said he didn’t think he had made it. Rather, he viewed it only as getting his foot in the door. He had to prove he belonged. Guess what? He tried to prove it every time he practiced too. Hightower is the same way. He’ll max out in his career because of that attitude.

8.       Still not sure how good he’ll be, though he is the Redskins best all-around back. And 25 carries a game could be tough for him to handle (as it would be for most backs); injuries were one thing that a couple scouts brought up when talking about him. But he plays the game violently and that’s a good thing.

9.       QB Rex Grossman said he’s in a good spot now because of his experience in the league and now in this offense. “I’m going to make mistakes,” he said. “Mistakes happen. To be a quarterback, and to not be confused, to not feel, ‘well, what do I do now?’ That’s when bad things happen and I don’t feel that very much.”

10.   This is a couple days old, but still good. When tight end Chris Cooley was asked why it was so important for him to play in the opener after missing most of the preseason, he said, “I’m not willing to miss out. I’m not willing to sit out. I want to make a difference for this team. I know it’s still early, but there’s something special happening in our locker room now. I’m not willing to not be a part of that.”

11.   Cooley on breaking Jerry Smith’s record for most catches by a Redskins tight end: “Someone will have to play tight end for a long time to break what I’m going to do so when I look back, when I have kids, I can always say I have the most receptions of any tight end. I’m proud of that. I understand it’s not Tony Gonzalez and 1,000 catches. But it’s still neat to have been part of this franchise and to put as much as I have for the Redskins and to be a part of that … it’s something I’ll look back on.”

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